The Greatest Betrayal
by yz61199
Summary: Elise, captured as a young girl and forced with dark magic to lure and kill innocents, begs for the day when she dies. And then she meets Yasuo. Behind the facades, a spark of love may linger, but Elise knows it cannot last. For her master has ordered her to follow Yasuo to his treasures. And kill him.
1. Webs of Destiny

**Hi! I hope you enjoy this. I'll try to put up a chapter once every two weeks (They take a lotta polishing and editing), but please review :P **

**Note: This story will get slightly more mature as it goes on, but nothing sexual or gory. **

There's something magical about that first snowflake in winter. It's as if everything suddenly changes, as the corpses of plants finally crumble into dust and the taste of fresh, cold air is omnipresent. To some people, it can represent another few painfully freezing months, where every morning is marked by the monotonous exercise of shoveling snow in the subzero morning air. To others, it's a whole new adventure, filled with the constant hope of snowball fights and sledding. But to me, it will always have one meaning- Yasuo. I still remember the first time I met him.

He took out his sword, staring up at the sky. "It's going to fall soon." As I gazed up into the heavens, a small dot of white floated down. As it neared, the tiny, intricate patterns woven into the frozen star became visible. Yasuo held out his katana, and the flake was caught perfectly on the crisp edge of the blade. He presented it to me with a humble gesture.

I held out a single finger and allowed him to place it on it. As I touched that first breath of snow, I felt something completely opposite from the cold dot on my finger. It warmed me up from the inside. And as I saw the snowflake slowly melt into a little puddle of dripping water, I let myself open up, not a lot, but just enough so that a certain samurai could find his way into my heart.

It was a bright autumn afternoon as I, a happy little girl, skipped down the street with my sparkly red shoes. My father had just come back from a long journey, and of course, he had something for his little princess.

"Come here, mon amour," He would say in his characteristically deep voice as I lept off the ground where I was half-heartedly playing with my toys and into his arms. He laughed, a deep rumbly noise.

Even though he answered the same every time, I asked. "Daddy, did you bring me any presents?" Already expecting his answer, I reached into his pockets.

He held up a hand. "Not so fast, bèbè. First, remember the magic words?" He shook his wagging finger.

I giggled. "I love you daddy, forever and always."

"And I love you, my darling, forever and always." We repeated the well-worn phrases as we had dozens of times in the past.

He reached into his pocket and brought out the small pair of shiny, sparkly red shoes. "Pour vous, Elise."

I donned the shoes as soon as I saw them. They seemed to fit perfectly onto my two small feet as I skipped to school in downtown Noxus, leaving behind my small, white house. Little did I know, I wouldn't come back.

As I neared my home that afternoon, I sniffed in the air and immediately knew something was wrong. Very wrong. The warm, fresh cookie smell of my house was gone, as well as all the familiar quirks. The grass no longer shook in the wind, the familiar cats gone. As I opened the door, something tipped me off. It seemed now as if it were my bright red shoes, shining brilliantly in the mid-afternoon light, reflected something dark and sinister. I instinctively leapt back, just as a razor-sharp talon raked through the air.

In front of me, emerging from the shadows, was a deformed and huge spider. About the size of a grown man, its grotesque eyes bulging out of its head like a group of glistening red, bulbous pimples. Normally this was what would make a full-grown man scream, much more a little girl, but I held my ground. Until I saw my father. His face, covered with the sticky strands, was petrified for eternity into one of pure terror. Around his body, the spider strands formed cocoons as he was encased like a mummy. But worst of all was his arm. A large chunk of it was missing, with liquefied meat spilling out of the hole. As I looked at the man who once loved me, cared for me, I screamed.

Naturally, I sprinted out the door, but I was immediately confronted with a sticky wall of translucent thread. Too late, realization hit me. The spider quickly closed the gap.

As it got closer, it began to shed. Soon, its long spindly legs fell off, closing into the sides of the body, until it became a full grown man. Looking at his face, fangs sticking out, panic overwhelmed me.

"Hello, mon amour." His silky voice poured out of that accursed throat, still tainted with my father's blood.

"Don't call me that, you cruel beast." I screamed, backing away further into the corner.

He laughed. "Don't you remember? Your soul is mine, promised to me by eternity himself." And he lunged.

Closing my eyes, I sat there and waited for the inevitable impact, the sharp fangs digging into my flesh, poison seeping into my veins. It was a thousand times worse. Every inch of my body begged for release as his toxins seeped into my bloodstream, consuming both my innocence and my heart. I couldn't move, paralyzed in oblivion as he transformed me. He let go.

I snarled and leapt at him, my personal fear now forgotten. But he held up a hand as I touched him and I ripped straight through his body, which dissolved and reformed a few feet away.

"Bad girl. You should know better than to attack an immortal." He smiled, a mouth of bloody teeth being revealed. I fought him many times that afternoon, confined within those terrifying sticky walls. But as much as I could rebuke him, he just laughed and dodged whatever pitiful punch I could throw. And then as I lay on the ground, dying out, he bit in.

That was the day I died, only to be reborn again as Elise, the Queen. The one who lured innocent men to their deaths. The one who's heart was harder than that of a diamond. The one who moved from a father who would never love her, forever and always, again.

"Are we almost there?" A nervous looking man tapped on my shoulder. I grinned into his face.

"Close. Then you'll get to devote your life to him, the Almighty." As the weak man stumbled away, I looked out into the swamp. The Black Mist consumed the area, sticking to the skins of the living as parasites to the dead, as I led a new batch of devotees to the temple. Those poor fools, I thought, believing my web of lies. I forced myself to swallow down the bile that began rising in my throat. I couldn't, of course. I'd been under full control of Vilemaw since he had captured me three years ago, using me as a literal kidnapper of souls.

As we sailed further through the murky swamp, a woman screamed as one of the many dark spirits lingering on the sides lunged in and devoured her essence. No one seemed to notice. They were all grouped up on the deck, huddled in prayer to the god that didn't exist. As I looked at their dark cloaks huddling together for safety, I felt a sense of repulsion. If I had a choice, ending my life there would have been a mercy both to humanity and myself. However, the powerful toxins dug within my arms, embedded with ancient magic, prevented me from doing any self-harm and disobeying my master. I pulled up my thin black sleeve, revealing a twin fang mark where he had first entered me. My mark of death, destruction and pain.

"All right, off the boat." I herded the masses off the spectral ship, where they stood in front of the cave, a giant hole with stalagmites standing eerily and covered to the top with webbing. It was time.

I led them into the cave like a flock of sheep, awaiting slaughter. Inside in the darkness, it would be impossible to see, making it easier to do my job. Also, the only mercy I could offer them as to spare their minds of the traumatic images. And then, I struck.

The innocuous rocks sitting in the side of the cave morphed into toxin engorged spiderlings, instantly crashing themselves into groups of pilgrims and acidifying their flesh amid screams of torture. I shot out waves of webbing from my hands, layering the victims with chains of white. And then, I began the process.

My arms began to shrink, my head enlarging into that of a large bulbous black widow. My eyesight began to distort until I could see everything all around me, innocent meals identified by their body heat. I leapt over to the first victim, making two small indentations within their arms as I began to suck out their living soul, a collection for my master. As I slowly filled up with souls and repulsion, the room began to dim. Finally, I reached the last. I slowly chomped down on the crying child's head, begging her for forgiveness as her whimpers slowly stopped. And then, a sword came crashing on my head.

Unluckily for my attacker, my impulses were lightning quick. I dashed out of the way, morphing into a human and shooting blasts of toxin at him. As I looked closer, I remembered the lad. He had arrived to our pilgrimage by himself, cloaked in a plain shawl marking him as a wanderer, probably from Ionia seeing the mottled brown color. His eyes shone sharper then daggers as the ocean-blue color from them reflected on the shiny katana he wielded. I let him on the ship with no second thoughts, as he seemed just like the others- gullible, idealistic, prey. But now, he was the predator.

He seemed to weave through the wind itself, forming it into new shapes that repulsed my miasmatic attack. Like the ancient artists of old, he created instead of destroyed. His katana moved through the air like a blade of glorified justice, and I begged for him to end my pitiful life as my uncontrollable body dodged and attacked back. Soon, the gusts of movement transformed into a typhoon, a swirling gale of pure passion weaving around our deadly dance. And then it was over. One of my stray webs managed to ensnare itself onto his leg, and he slowed down for that split second. I could see his movement with my supersonic vision, his face suddenly twisting into one of pure agony, right before a blast of my toxins hit him in the face and he fell.

As I stared down at my prey, universes collided within my hearts. As if two celestial armies rushing each other in a devastating charge, love and admiration mingled with the inevitable sorrow, pain that would come with me inevitably slaughtering him. I stared down at the man, his face peaceful and accepting of death. It was as if… If he knew I couldn't control myself. And then my talon went down.

But I stopped. My talon hovering inches away from his soul, I stopped. It felt as if the fire inside my heart was inside a rainstorm, knives piercing into my flesh, but I controlled it. I fought back against the demon inside, forcing him to let me have this one act of mercy and forgiveness. I felt my life slip away as I tried to overcome his immortal powers. His will forced itself onto me, overwhelming my mental insurgence in a flash. As I was about to be overcome, suddenly, a golden shield of bliss formed itself around my mind, another immortal fighting for me. We overcame the demon, making him form a pact with me. I would not harm this man, but I would gather information about him and send it to Vilemaw. The compromise would allow for me to save this man from Vilemaw's fury. And thus, I turned back into a woman and held out my hand.

He took it and looked into my eyes. Somehow, he had understood what had just happened and didn't leap out to attack me. He stared into my eyes. "Yasuo, Ionia."

"Elise, Noxus."

And as we stood there, two warriors embracing within a dark cave, I felt the small twinges of emotion move inside my chest, emotions that hadn't been there since my father died.


	2. An Assassin from the Past

Chapter 2.

**Yay new chapter! Again, any reviews would be appreciated greatly, both positive and negative. Plus, if you want some champion to make a cameo in the story, it could be arranged… hehe…..**

Yasuo leapt from the starboard, looking out towards the exit of the swamp. He could see the black mist hovering in the distance, swallowing up the light in the distance. Looking to the light had become a new hobby of his. Maybe to atone for losing track of the light all those years ago…

Beside him, Elise barely stirred. Covered in her blanket of webs, she seemed so peaceful, so beautiful. Looking so innocent, yet her teeth were stained with the bloods of innocence. Yasuo didn't know what to think. On one hand, he knew she was a demon of the ancient order, one sent to terrorize man. She was the formation of nightmares and death. However, he still remembered how she had overcome him in battle. About to slaughter him, it was if a small ounce of humanity triggered within her, compassion and something else. He could feel the pure turmoil seeping out from her skin, her morals fighting her body. And she had won.

As the first rays of light peeked out from the stern of the ship, Elise began to wake. Her cocoon slowly unraveled, unveiling the most flawless woman he had ever seen. Her skin, slightly tainted with otherworldly purple, was perfectly smooth. She wore a skin-tight black dress that did nothing to hide the more intimate parts of her body. And then she yawned and smiled, a dopey smile on her face. This was so much different than the cruel beast he had seen yesterday, leaping around the battlefield devouring souls. Instead, he saw a happy teenage girl with her whole life taken away from her. Instead of late-nights filled with first kisses and giggles, texting and sleepovers, she spent her days luring and hunting down blood. It made him sick.

Elise's face contorted back into that of the assassin. "Hello."

Yasuo looked into her face, his own a mirror of passivity. "Good morning. It's about time you woke."

She looked forward, and suddenly the boat tipped. The ghastly sailors struggled to regain control of the ship, making it lurch dramatically. Yasuo looked over the side of the ship and immediately flinched back.

There, on the side of the ship, was a woman. She was dressed in dark green drab, and in her hands she held twin kamas, flurrying in a wave of light as she fought off wave after wave of spectral demons. Akali, the Shadow Dancer, one of the Trio of Unity, and overall one of Valoran's most feared people. Yasuo instinctively backed off. If Akali could be summoned here, it must be extremely important…

And then she jumped and landed right next to Yasuo, her kama pressing against his throat. "Stand still."

He felt his throat muscles tighten as her kama pressed against his windpipe. The sharp weapons, while extremely short in range, were amongst the sharpest in the world. One false move, and death would finally catch him.

Launching into the familiar motions, he quickly manipulated the winds to provide an extra inch between him and the weapon. Dashing with ridiculous speed behind Akali, he ducked and dodged a swirl of energy while drawing his own katana. They stared at each other for a second before Akali lunged. Her kamas barely nicked Yasuo's arms as he dashed past, but instantly he felt a huge wave of pain flood down his arm. _Cursed poisons. _Swearing, he leapt into the air and prepared to finish with a huge blast of wind. Except Akali was faster.

She twirled her kamas, and suddenly she vanished. Into thin air. And then a paralytic dart embedded itself into Yasuo's neck. He fell down into a heap, body still twitching, as Akali appeared right above him.

She grinned, spitting blood out from between her teeth. "Justice has finally caught you, betrayer. Not even your legendary speed could save you." And she sliced down.

A wave of nausea passed over Yasuo as he groggily shook his head. Eyes opening, he looked into Elise's concerning eyes.

She smiled, and instantly his pains went away. "You're awake."

He nodded. "What happened to the Shadow? She definitely got me."

Grimacing, Elise raised her hand and Yasuo gasped. Two of her digits were missing. "I flung some webbing at her just in time. She lunged at me and managed to get two of my digits before my toxins overwhelmed her, but she still managed to get away." She paused momentarily. "How did you ever make such a powerful enemy?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but then hesitated. "I- I did something bad in the past, and these are atonement for my sins."

Elise's eyes twinkled. "Like what?"

He closed his eyes, and the moment came back to him.

He stood in the room, facing towards the doorway. Outside, sounds of men's cries and grunts flooded in, the music of battle. Behind him, the elder sat in a chair, composing another book of poetry. Yasuo groaned. His young body ached for release, for war. And then he heard it. His twin's cry, as he was hit by a knife.

Yasuo instinctively leapt out of the room before he could think. He flew like a bird of war, smashing straight through a pile of enemies and cutting them down. He grabbed his brother and flung him into a pile of bushes nearby, hurt but alive. He laughed giddily as he walked back into the room, wiping blood off of his blade. Froze.

In front of him was a tall, elegant woman, covered in a pure white dress. Her hand held a staff on which a small dove floated. She was alone, inside a room with the elder. She raised her staff and pointed it at the elder.

"Stop!" Yasuo tried to yell, but his voice came out a heartbeat too late. A tornado burst out of her staff, enveloping the elder and ripping him to shreds. She then turned around, sizing up Yasuo.

Trying to ignore the dishonor wrought upon his village, he dashed forward, hoping to avenge against this woman. His katana struck out, catching the woman by surprise as he slashed at her neck.

He missed.

The woman quickly spun into a tightly woven cocoon of air and dashed outside of the room, flying off into the distance, leaving behind only a wake of destruction.

Afterwards, the trial was all foggy in his mind. The other elders proclaiming him a traitor, sentencing him to execution. His own twin brother, ignoring him as he walked past, not even a teardrop of emotion spilling from his eyes. The execution day, when he forfeit his honor and slaughtered the executioner, fleeing, determined to clear his name. And then, the chase….

"Yasuo. Wake up." Elise shook his arms, and he slowly came out of his daze. "Your eyes were milky white. It's been several hours." 

He merely nodded, the emotions flooding in. What he had experienced was too painful to talk about, to mention to anyone. But he vowed- If he ever had a chance, that woman would die. Slowly and painfully.

Finally, by late afternoon they exited the swamp. Outside, the sun had begun to set as it's eerie lighting sent shadows flying through the trees.

"Elise, about what happened earlier, thank you." Yasuo finally broke the silence. "I can't tell you why she's after me, but I just want you to know that it means a lot to me."

Elise smiled sadly, but instantly replaced it with a grim line. "You owe me one thing at least. Why was she chasing you?"

Yasuo paused momentarily, seeing before him the cruel spider woman who had eaten his comrades and threatened him, but he shook himself out of it. _She deserves to know, if you're travelling with her. _He braced himself. "Akali, she's not just a random assassin hired by someone. She's my sister."

Akali returned to the Institute, dripping wet and clutching her side. The toxins had taken their toll on her, slowing down her ridiculous movement. As she entered the door, she was greeted by the Master. He looked at her, not saying a word.

"Master, he's alive. And he's combined forces with the Arachnid."

The man nodded, his years of wisdom and study crumbling before his eyes. The Ancients had been awaken, all because of some stupid coincidence that let Elise meet Yasuo.

Akali looked at him, fearful. "Is… is it time?"

The man grimaced, but he knew the choice. "Yes." His voice was hushed, as he spoke the words that would change history. "Send out the Messenger. We have to stop this before it's too late."


	3. Catching the Wind

Chapter 3.

**Note- There will be a new main character introduced. Anyways, I hope you readers enjoy! Please review and follow, it's really really amazing when I get a new follower or review :P **

**The next update will come in a week or so, it will be much longer and focus a lot more on the characters. **

Janna stood in her study, the omnipresent wind fluttering around her. Around her, books crammed every nook, half of them sprawled open, as she searched for the information. As she opened another rusty book, its dust spilling off of it, she almost groaned. Brushing it off, she began to read.

"_The Ancients were, as legends wrote, a group of legendary warriors. Much of them is shrouded in mystery, as most of the documents and accounts have long since been lost."_

_Thanks. _Janna frowned. _I really needed to know that all information about them was lost…_ She sighed and stood up again. Outside, the sun was setting again, marking the seventh day of her pursuit. Why was the Master so interested anyways? She had heard mysterious tales of the Kinkou Master, and so had taken the elaborate plan of killing a messenger and replacing him with a fully scripted and magically infused wind spirit to intercept messages.

Over the years, this Master had sent out various messages with levels one and two. But this was the first time it had been attached with a level three notice. And that got Jannah worried.

_Could this be related to… _She thought to her recent studies. Being one of the most famed scholars in the world, no one suspected her of studying anything but her assignment of military strategies for that fool Jarvan. Recently, however, she had picked up on far more worrying news. There were rumours within the ancient texts she was studying of a mysterious person, which itself was interesting.

But the same exact person appeared in ancient texts from all over the world, thousands of years apart and in no contact with each other. The Yordlians called him the Lightbringer, the Shurimans called him the Shadow, and even the Void had a name for him, though it had long been lost.

Tales told of him appearing in battles, single-handedly wiping out whole platoons of men. Saving the king of Shurima, Azir, from sure death by breathing life into him. He seemed neither good nor evil. It was perplexing.

She looked at the map again. Maybe there was something about this man. On the replica of the Master's message, there was a map with a mark and a name on it. She read the name. _Elise. I will meet you soon._

She charged through the air, gravity twisting around her face as she bent it with skills unknown for so long. This was it, the taste of battle. Finally, another awoke, and the Arachnid. For years, she had been deployed to hunt down random monsters terrorizing small villages, but nothing that she couldn't do with a blink. Now, Vilemaw, that was a real challenge.

As she neared the source of the energy, she felt the thrill of battle begin to pulse through her. It shook and trembled until she was ready to let it out. She laughed, the laugh of war. And she charged.

Ahead of her, she saw a small boat, ragged and rotten. And on the boat stood Vilemaw, or at least his spirit. She refocused her eyes and looked closer.

No, it wasn't Vilemaw's form. There was a young girl and man standing on the boat, eyes staring straight through her. She frowned. The blood of innocents was never good to take. But, still, if the Master requested it…

She spun, and suddenly she shimmered in the light and became visible. Her battle form, the one known by humans as Anivia. She screamed and a blast of ice particles shot forth, raining down on the ship.

Yasuo stared out into the open air. There was not a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining brightly to compensate for the darkness of the swamp. That was, of course, before the giant _fricken _bird appeared out of nowhere.

She literally zapped into existence a mere 50 feet from their boat. Her body seemed to be carved by ice, glistening inside the mid-afternoon sun. Her wings shone with the pendants of light, shimmering. She roared, and a blast of icy bullets came roaring out of her wings. He barely rolled out of the way, following in Elise's footsteps as she leapt out of the way as well. Elise gathered some of that strange venom she seemed to have, and flung it at the bird.

It smashed into the bird's wings, and instantly froze and shattered down. Yasuo gaped. Her poison had been completely frozen. He had never heard of anything that powerful.

The bird roared again, and then dove. Around it, the formings of an icy egg appeared as it gained distance on the small boat.

_50 feet._

The bird hurtled across the water, leaving a trail of ice in her wake.

_30 feet._

Yasuo put up several wind walls as Elise attempted to craft a webbing shield around them. They looked into each other's eyes and knew that would do nothing.

_10._

_2._

The bird crashed straight onto the deck, then bounced off as if a giant bubble surrounded the ship. Yasuo looked up, and saw her. The demon who had been chasing him for all these years. She stood there, in her flimsy white dress, the same thing she wore that fated day all those years ago…

The last thing he remembered before he hit the deck was the sound of Elise's scream mixing with that of his brother's, beckoning him to the darkness.

He opened his eyes, and he was in a different place. It wasn't a place he had been before, but he thought these nightmares had ended years ago…

He felt the land open up beneath him, and he fell a few feet into what seemed like a massive crater. Around him, the ground was pitted with small, perfectly triangular holes. He looked around.

He seemed to be in a clearing inside a deep forest. Around him, a ring of grass grew, but none ventured into the crater. And right in front of him… was his own brother.

He had a cocky smile on his face, just like the last time Yasuo had embraced him. He laughed and grinned at Yasuo.

"Bro, you'll be back before you know it. Don't look so down, I'll clear your name." He grinned and held out his hand for a shake. Yasuo shook back tears as he reached forward for his brother's soft embrace. "Don't worry, Yas. I'll see ya again, and we could go fishing, just like last time."

He knew this was a memory, a distant ghost sent to haunt him, but he was afraid. There would be no more next time, no fishing, no brother. The next time would be a confrontation, and he would… His brother would die.

He looked at his elder brother again, holding him tight and comforting his younger brother leaving on a quick journey of exile. He was wrong. Yasuo was wrong about everything. He hadn't left the ghosts of past behind when he made a new life. He had just captured them in his heart.

Janna looked forward at the young woman in front of her. This was the famous Arachnid?

She floated forward and held out a hand. "Ja-Jenny of Ionia." Best to play it safe and hide her identity for now.

The woman smiled. "Elise. Thank you for saving us."

Janna faked a smile back and looked at the still struggling Anivia, fighting against the bounds that held her tight. The bounds she herself had developed, and as far as she knew, she was the only human to defeat an Ancient.

"It is my pleasure. Do you know what brought this beast to you?"

She saw Elise hesitate. A split fraction of a second, but it was enough to realize she was lying. "No, I have no clue. Me and my husband here were just sailing to Ionia to meet up with my family."

Janna looked closely at Elise as she talked. The prose she used was definitely from a well-born family, and her mostly masked accent was definitely Noxus in origin. The way her arms moved, her eyes darted, she was definitely anticipating something dangerous.

She struck, instantly transforming into a spider. It was so sudden, so bizarre after the conversation with the pleasant young woman that Janna almost got hit. She instinctively wrapped herself in a ball of air, cushioning and deflecting the blow. As the spider lunged again, she quickly spirited herself into the sky.

Of course, Arachnid. She cursed herself. How could she have been so dumb? That was the ancient word for spider. Another Ancient? She tested by throwing another bond at her, the one that had captured Anivia.

The new Arachnid dodged it quickly, and spat a ball of venomous poison at Janna's face. She deflected it with a blast of air, but it burned through the air. _Poison burning through air? If that's the true power of Ancients, then… _

She quickly dashed even higher in the sky, where the Arachnid couldn't hit her. And she looked at Anivia closer. The wings… they seemed a little bent out of shape. And the ice she had shot was melting, not freezing the wood. That was definitely not what the legends claimed.

That meant… it was a trap. The Anivia was fake. She turned around, only to be bound midair with a chain of long, heavy rope. Behind her, a voice sneered. The Master.

"My dear, we have finally caught you. Game over."


	4. Destinies Intertwining

Chapter 4.

**Note: May venture into slightly graphic scenes.. Nothing too brutal, just fyi**

Elise walked through the ghastly boat, her mind buzzing. Above her, she could still see where Jenny had mysteriously vanished, disappeared. She didn't know if it was a trick of the light or what, but it was all very disconcerting. People didn't vanish, she remembered. Her mind buzzed back to her school days, where her teacher lectured her about the laws of science and how matter didn't disappear.

Then where did she go? The mysterious woman had saved them from the Frozen beast, still roped on the ship's floor. Beside it, Yasuo sat in a perfect meditating pose, floating a few inches off the ground. His eyes were closed, but light was spilling out of his body. She had tried to move his body to a more sheltered area, but as soon as she got close, fierce winds battered her aside. It was all very strange.

As she stared at the man, she felt a small blush rise in her cheeks. _He's sure handsome. _His stylish hair floating behind him in a puff, stern yet serene face, that fierce scar above his eyebrow. And yet, there was no way this could work. The inner beast within her pulled, and she squirmed.

The deal with Arachnid was simple- He would promise not to force her to harm him in any way, as long as she followed him to wherever his journey was taking him. They had been sailing for a day already on his plotted destination, and the meager supplies Elise had packed from her cave were running out. She looked at the map.

Yasuo had drawn a big red X above a cluster of mountains, just north of Ionia. They were only a few days away. She still didn't know why she was keeping Yasuo alive, at the cost of her own sanity. Why was he different then all of the other people she had on her ships? The others, she had small amounts of guilt and conscience for, but she reassured herself that they were merely in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Why did she fight for Yasuo?

Janna spit out a ball of blood as she strained against her bindings. The wind spirits floating around her head whirred agitatedly, but they couldn't do anything in her current situation.

Before her, the Master stood along with his Enforcer, Shen, the Eye of Twilight. The man was rumoured never to take off his mask, as it was legend that his face would be so ugly that he left the mask on to intimidate people. Janna found herself smirking, despite her precarious location. _You and me aren't very different, just my mask is less visible. _

The calm, threatening voice of the Master spoke again. "How did you find out about the secret of the Ancients?"

Janna shook her head. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore, would it?" She felt her sass rising again, and immediately regretted it as Shen raised his hand and smashed it into her face.

_Ouch. That would need some fixing up later. _She smiled inside. The Master and his force thought they were keeping balance by restraining all signs of conflict. Well, they were in for a surprise, because absolutely no one messed with Janna. Ever.

She quickly whirled her hands tied behind her and created a tiny wind pixie, invisible to the eye. Mentally sending commands to it, she let it fly off.

The Master groaned. "Scholar Janna, you have one last time to tell me before I call out the real terror. And believe me, unless you want to end up looking like Urgot, you should tell me now."

Janna glared at the Master, but devoutly refused to say a word. Her studies were definitely worth more than a brush with death.

The Master nodded, a tint of sorrow clouding his face. "Very well. I'm sending her in."

And out of the shadow's emerged Akali. She held a kama in each hand, and Janna felt a surge of fear and awe. _Finally. The legendary Twilight Assassin appears. _

Akali stared at the bold woman, who looked as if she would be knocked over by a simple poke. _Do not underestimate her. She was the sole cause of the Demacian victory over Noxus a year ago. _Still, looking at the fragile scholar before her, it was hard to imagine.

She held out her weapons, Truth in one hand and Destiny in another. She remembered what they meant when she first got them.

"_As your Guardian for the past 13 years, I am esteemed to hand over the job to you." Her mother's stern face stared at her at the ceremony of moving. "Accept the first." She held out a shining silver blade, and Akali accepted it. "This is Truth, crafted from the metals within the harshest volcano. No blade on Runeterra is harder than it, so nothing will stop you from pursuing the truth." She then held out a similarly shaped blade, but this one with a golden handle. "This is Destiny, the one with which you will forge your path. It has served women in our line for millennia and will now be transferred to you."_

Was what she doing really justice? Was it the truth, stopping all these people who her Master ordered her to hunt down? She looked again at the helpless scholar before her, her eyes bright and shining, her body rigid and paralyzed with fear, and she almost hesitated. _Not now. Focus. _She raised a kama and brought it down, smashing into Janna's face.

It went straight through. Janna's body melted into a wisp, leaving nothing behind but a small, laughing wind spirit. Akali quickly turned around, only to be silenced over the mouth with a band of air. Janna twinkled with laughter.

"Two can play at the same mimic game. Now, why don't we sit down and chat?"

Yasuo opened his eyes, and he was surprised to find himself at a state of calm, after what he had just experienced… He quickly stood up, erasing the memory once again from his mind. He found Elise inside the cabin of the ship, playing with a baby spider she had released.

"What happened?" He pointed at the giant ice bird laying sprawled out on the boat.

Elise frowned. "It was a fake. We got defeated by a mere illusion, created by some powerful sorcerer. Yasuo, you sure have some powerful enemies."

He stared at the bird. He was sure that some primal emotions had woken in him when he saw it flying towards him, almost as if he recognized it.

He turned back to Elise. "So, are we almost there?"

Elise smiled, a small blush creeping into her cheeks that Yasuo didn't fail to notice. "Only a few hours off from the mountains you marked." Yasuo nodded, face grim with apprehension. It was time to talk to his teacher again.

As they unloaded off the ship, Elise put a tensive foot on the sandy beach, then recoiled.

Yasuo laughed, the first one he had done in front of her. "What's wrong? Is the spider princess scared of a little bit of sand?"

Elise groaned at the teasing, but she still smirked a bit. The ground was a lot shakier then she had been used to, the sand crumbling beneath her feet. She took a few more tentative steps, frowning as her every step felt like she was sinking. _How can people stand this? _

They walked forward for a few minutes, Yasuo taking the opportunity to point out every location. He had dramatically changed as they exited the boat. He was like a child, eager, smiling, full of life. His scars seemed to momentarily fade away as he brightly pointed out the place he had once trained tree- climbing in. Soon, they reached a small cave. Yasuo almost jumped with joy.

"Let's go! I can't wait for you to meet Teacher. He's so amazing!"

Elise almost laughed at his childish expression, but decided not to and humour him. There would be plenty of melancholy moments later to tease him.

As she entered the cave, the lighting from within cast dark shadows on the wall, ones that moved in eery patterns. Drips filled the cavern from an unknown water source above as Yasuo led the way inside. He knocked on the side of the cavern, a strange, melodic rapping. "Teacher, I'm home."

Elise heard a large footstep from inside. Then another. It felt as if the ground was shaking.

"Mayb- Maybe I should just wait outside for a bit?" She stammed.

Yasuo grinned. "No need. The Teacher is here."

She rounded the corner. In front of her.. stood a 2 foot tall Yordle with a cheesy grin on his face.

"Um…." She was speechless for once in her life.

Yasuo bowed down low to the Yordle, who couldn't be over 5 years old. "I am back Teacher."

The Yordle nodded. Elise looked closer at the strange creature. It had bright orange fur with large pointy ears. It's eyes were large and beady, and it would easily pass for one of those kittens that the children in towns played with. It wore a bony hat, created out of some bird's skull. In its small furry hand, it held a small boomerang.

"Yasuo, is this reall your Teacher?"

Yasuo nodded, his face wide with enthusiasm. "I trained under him when I was in my youth. He was pretty much the source for all my training." 

"But isn't he like five years old?"

Both Yasuo and the Yordle instantly wore the exact same expression of confusion, Elise almost laughed. It was clear they were Teacher and student now.

"No! He's over five million years old. His name is Gnar."

5 million years. Elise whistled. He must be really really ancient to be that old. Older than even the legends.

She bowed. "It is my pleasure to meet you." The Yordle chuckled.

She looked at it, staring straight into its eyes. Was this really a warrior?

Gnar must have realized something, because he leaned into Yasuo's ear and squeaked. Yasuo's face broke out into another grin, something that still surprised Elise from the normally sullen warrior.

"He wants to duel you, says you don't believe him."

Two hours later, they stood outside inside a dirt-filled arena on the ground. Yasuo stood on the side, sword pointed in the air as a judge might wave a flag. "First one down on the ground for ten seconds loses."

Elise grinned, this would be no contest. She tested out by flinging a blob of venom at the Yordle, who dodged it with blinding speed. Appearing right behind Elise, he swept out his little boomerang and hit her solidly on the knees, causing her to buckle. She stood up straight, looking at the little Yordle bouncing off the walls.

_Damn. He's fast. _She quickly spread out a spiderweb across the stadium, making it so he couldn't run anymore. Apparently Gnar had never seen a spider or something, because he stepped right into the web and instantly got stuck.

_Easy. There's no way this guy was Yasuo's master. _She laughed and channeled the power of Arachnid, jumping into a full-blown spider and lunging at the short Yordle.

And instantly got thrown in the air and landed on her back. In front of her, she heard a large roar as the ground shook.

In front of her stood a massive, almost titanic, beast. It's eyes were the color of flame, it's horns piercing forward. She looked closely at it, and saw the webbing she had placed earlier whipped out and trampled under it's massive feet.

Unable to comprehend what just happened, the beast shot a massive boulder at Elise and smashed her down to the ground, pinned helplessly under it.

Yasuo waved his sword. "Game over. See, Elise? He's ridiculous."

After slowly squirming out from underneath the boulder, Elise bowed again to the monster, who had changed back into the cute fuzzy Yordle. This time, her bow was one of the highest respect and honor, not a slightly mocking one.

Akali sat on the floor of the room, quietly conversing with Janna while having a cup of tea. Of course, her arms were bound behind her and she was mummified with a shroud of air, but still.

Janna sipped her green tea. "And what is the Master trying to accomplish?" The conversation had gone like this for hours, as Janna asked her quiet questions and she refused to answer.

Unlike her own methods, however, Janna did not violently force her to say anything. Instead, she merely sat there quietly, sipping her tea and looking at Akali.

_Is she trying to make me give in because of boredom? _Akali groaned as Janna repeated her question.

"Akali, you can sit here all day if you want to. I'm just having a civil conversation, if you don't want to participate be that way." Janna's voice cut through like a stern teacher.

Akali shook her head once more, and Janna finally gave up. "Akali, listen to me."

"The Master is not who you think he is. What did he tell you he was?"

Akali stopped. What… Why did it matter who she thought the Master was? "I… I don't know."

Slowly, as Janna began to ask simple questions and offer her own information, Akali began to loosen up and talk more freely.

"My mother's line… They have always served the Master, and so I do. The world needs us to keep peace."

Janna pointed to her own bruising rib. "Does this really look like peace to you?"

Akali lowered her gaze. Was it peace, or was she merely a thug? "I.. I don't know. Everything's changing."

Janna placed a slender hand on Akali's shoulder, and she looked up. "No, you're changing. I can feel it. Just remember what I told you."

Janna twisted the small ring on her finger, a bright light emanating from the large gem embedded on the ring. It shone, and Janna flickered in the light.

"Akali, just tell your master I overwhelmed you and left. If you… if you ever reconsider your life, go to Demacia and find me."

And then she vanished, leaving Akali sitting on the cold ground, staring at her hands.

How many people had she killed that truly didn't deserve to die? That family years ago, the one she had been told were terrorists? She remembered the couple stuffing a little baby into a sack and throwing him down the sewer, crying and trying to protect him before Akali swiped her kamas across their necks. She was a monster.

All the criminals she had hunted down before all came back to her. Did they deserve it? Though there had been many terrible people in her past, she abruptly came to a conclusion. The only criminal who deserved to die… was her. The woman who had killed thousands of families, destroying lives and futures. All while in the pretense of justice.

She smashed her head against the floor, cracks spreading through the cement. She would have to go find Janna. But first… She held her head up, a steely glint coming into her eyes. It was time to visit her brother again.


	5. Elise

Chapter 5.

The familiar red-striped boomerang hurtled towards Elise. She quickly swung her body to one side, flickering with magic as a spike of webbing shot out and ensnared the boomerang.

Gnar smiled. The girl had only been training underneath him for a few weeks, along with his old pupil, but she was already learning extremely fast. As they sparred on the dusty training ground, Gnar leapt to the side to avoid a ball of venom.

Yasuo raised his sword. "It's 11:00. Lunch."

Gnar looked at his own student, now a serious and lean young man. He remembered back when Yasuo was a chubby little boy, toddling around with his little sword. Now, when he looked into Yasuo's eyes, it scared him. Throughout all his years of living in Runeterra, barely anything had unsettled him. Watching Yasuo, who was like a son, lose his heart and humanity was like a knife twisting in his chest.

A short walk later, they were sitting on a small field of grass, eating some of the high-protein grass balls that Gnar had packed. He bit into it and felt the familiar energy move through his body. Beside him, Elise and Yasuo ate theirs seriously. They looked like small adults sitting there, trying purposely not to show a strand of emotion.

As Elise bit into her ball, her face suddenly contorted into one of disgust. Her placid facial expression changed as it twisted.

Yasuo burst out laughing, his own still smile broken. He rolled over onto the ground, laughing, just as if he was that young boy Gnar had taught years ago.

Elise growled, trying to swallow the overripe vegetable, and flung a glob of web at Yasuo's mouth.

He gagged as the spicy liquid entered his mouth, stopping his laughing. They both sat there for a moment, chewing and swallowing while glaring at each other.

As they continued their stare-down, Gnar chuckled to himself. It was obvious that these two were literally made for each other. Yasuo turned his head to glare at his master, then stopped short. Behind him… was his sister.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded pointedly at Akali, his voice barely controlled.

Akali smiled feebly. "It's nice to meet you again, little brother."

Yasuo looked at her with disdain. He still remembered the scars he had bore, the pain of losing his only kin left… He had no time for her bullshit. He stared back at her, refusing to acknowledge her humanity. She was a petite woman, who could've probably qualified as "pretty" in modern standards. Anyone who described her like that would be asking for a beating, though.

"Look.. I'm sorry about all of this. This whole mess, chasing you into the swamp, engaging the Ancients, was my fault. But I need to tell you something very important."

Yasuo growled. Yeah, likely. More like she was going to backstab him in his sleep or something.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw Elise standing next to him, a worried expression on her face. "Yasuo, calm down. Your eyes are glowing."

Yasuo relaxed for a second, and felt his breath drop. Ahead of him, Akali stood, indifferent. "You go talk to her."

Elise walked over to the assassin. "Hi, I'm Elise." She looked at the woman curiously.

Akali smiled politely. "Akali. It is my joy to meet you. Would you like to go somewhere to discuss this privately so my little brother doesn't get in the way?"

Elise giggled. "Sure."

"So you were working for the Master? And he wants… me?" Elise frowned, looking at herself. She wasn't that special, was she?

Akali nodded. "Not you, necessarily, but he wants to rid the world of that monster which controls you. Arachnid."

Elise felt a twang of shock as Arachnid spoke up inside her brain for the first time in months. _Lie. Tell her I'm gone already. Do Not tell her anything or offer any clues._

"Nope, I have no clue who you're talking about. Are you claiming that there's a giant spider god living inside of me?"

After much insistence from Elise, Akali dropped the topic. Inside, however, she felt the familiar pangs.

_The lies will never stop. _

She gasped. She looked around her, and didn't recognize the scene. Was this another nightmare? The mountains around her swirled with a foggy white mist, rising up from within the trees. As the crisp air surrounded her, she felt herself gasping for a breath. And then she appeared.

Her mother, walking out from within the ring of trees surrounding Elise. She looked like the perfect glamour model she had been in life, all perfect and beautiful.

"Darling, I'm home." Her mother's faint voice whispered from the woman walking towards her.

She tried to run, but she was rooted in place as her mother's form shimmered and duplicated. Again.

"Elise, darling, did you buy me my drink today?" Her voice called down as the ghastly ring of figures surrounded Elise.

Without opening her mouth, Elise heard a young girl answer from within her. "Mother… There wasn't enough money. I couldn't get in today, and the shopkeeper caught me trying to steal them. Please…"

She was cut off when her mother's eyes changed. Gone was the kind, charitable woman that society knew. Gone was her façade. Her eyes flared up as her demons possessed her.

"Come over here, now."

Elise whimpered, forgetting her age and pretense that this was a dream. It was definitely real, the pain, the memories. She slowly walked over to her mother, who's image multiplied into many different versions of her mother, all staring at her as they cornered her into a circle. And they began to punch

Slowly, methodically. Elise cried out at the first touch, reduced to a blabbering slob. "Sto.. op Ple-"

A swift jab to the mouth stopped her. She gave in to the pain of her childhood, reliving the devil again. She would whimper and cry, but there was no stopping her until she was done. And then the next day, she would have to hide the scars again, say she fell off her bike, crashed down the stairs. The lies will never stop.

"Elise?" "Elise?" She felt heavy hands push on her shoulders and shake her up. Groggily, she blinked her eyes open.

Akali stood over her, a worried look on her face. "You were screaming. Something like 'Don't hit me'?"

Elise shook her head. "Not now."

She stumbled over, out of the room, to where Yasuo was impatiently waiting. He lept to his feet as he saw her struggling over the floor, and rushed to help her up.

"What happened? If my sister did anything to you, she'll regret it. I swear, tell me what the hell happened."

"No, it wasn't.. wasn't that. I need to see something, Yasuo. Can you go get me Gnar?"

He returned with the ancient Yordle a few seconds later, a puzzled expression creeping across both their faces.

"Master, I'm ready for the Trial."

Gnar shook his head. What was that girl thinking? There was no way she could brave through the infamous Trial of the Elements, where so many heroes had lost their lives. Still, he was obliged by ancient law to agree.

He led her to the back of the cave, Akali and Yasuo in tow, glaring at each other. At the end, he quietly removed the rock sheet in front of the tunnel. Elise started forward, but Yasuo grabbed her hand.

'Elise, don't do it. Why do you feel like you need to prove yourself? We all know you're strong enough. Everyone does."

Elise shook her head. "I don't."

She stumbled into the tunnel, and was instantly embraced with darkness. The first element, Fear. She stood quietly as she took in her surroundings. In front of her, a steady dripping came from the tunnel's top. Whispering spread through the tunnel, the voices plaguing into her head. She could taste her solitude, and instantly regretted the decision, slamming back into the door that she came from. But there was nothing. She crashed into a wall of pure obsidian, and as she turned around, the ground beneath her feet seemed to move. It was a test of her. And she would overcome.

Hesitantly, she took a first step, and immediately her footstep echoed through the whole tunnel. The noise bounced off the walls, curving inwards until it rebounded back at her. A fluttering of wings took flight above her, and she gritted her teeth, determined to keep on going forward through the pitch blackness.

As she slowly stepped forward, her inner peace began to form. She was finally safe, finally free from the demon inside. It couldn't reach her now. The darkness was more than a burden, it was freedom. It offered peace, solitude, and undivided love. And she pushed her way through the end of the tunnel.

As she stepped outside of the tunnel, her eyes were suddenly assaulted by a blinding light as her senses tingled. This was the second element, the famous quitting point for most challengers. Beside her, she saw a small door leading out of the Trial, to enter back into the real world. Her fingertips lurked above it, tempted to open the knob and escape. But then she looked back at the tunnel behind her, which now seemed to be at most 10 feet and not even dark, her will tightened. _I will do it. I have to._

During her study of the challenges, she had never read this far. There were supposedly 12 trials to test the virtues of a person. Succeed, and eternal glory and power would be bestowed upon the challenger. Fail, and the challenger would be reduced to a simple shell of a person, trapped in madness and insanity within the confines of their own mind. But Elise didn't want either. She just wanted to be clean again.

Ahead of her, a blazing furnace raged. The fires licked up from within the ground, the tormented screams of those who had failed before echoing as gruesome tributes. She understood the basic concept. Walk through it calmly, with no trace of fear, and the fire wouldn't harm you. But show one instance of surprise, one instant of regret, and it would be all over.

She took a deep breath and began walking. The fires engulfed her as her eyes swam with tears of being exposed to light. The heat, however, didn't come. As she walked slowly through, carefully keeping her breathing steady, she saw the end of the path a few feet away. And standing in front of it was Arachnid.

_He can't be here.. I left him behind. _Instantly, a burning sensation started to curl up from her body, and she forced herself to stay calm.

The monster in front of her grinned, taunting her with his wicked finger to come closer. "Don't you remember me, mi amor?" His silky voice poured out, still as despicable as years ago.

She forced herself to take a deep breath, sucking in the essence of her existence. "You aren't with me anymore. Be gone." She waved her hand, and a wave of fire crashed over the unsuspecting devil. As he washed away in the wave of fire, the flames around her flickered out. She was… free. Her shoulders lifted as the weight of sin had pushed them down for so many years. Behind her, a voice sounded. Sweet, melodic, painful. "Good job, young one. I knew you would make it this far, for we have much to discuss." She turned her face and jumped back. The lady in white from her encounter on the ship stood there, staring at her.

"Why are you here? How can you even access this tunnel?"

The lady merely tilted her head in acknowledgement. "I can do things you can't even comprehend, child. May I?" She pointed to Elise's hand. Elise faintly blushed. "Go ahead."

She grabbed her hand. It was ice cold, and Elise could swear she felt something tickle her palm. The lady frowned.

"That's not at all what my studies told me. This isn't how it's supposed to end." She mumbled to herself, a jumble of numbers whirling through her head.

Elise suddenly felt faint. "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

The woman paused for a second before answering. "You may want to sit down for a few minutes."

"So I'm somehow the key to this whole ancient legends thing?"

The woman, now known as Janna, nodded. "It's more than you. You and that boy, the one you're accustomed to traveling with?"

Yasuo. He was important to this as well? She felt a small surge of blood rush to her face as she remembered the last time he held her inside the swamp. "And?"

She took a deep breath. "The legends say your blood must mix beneath the feet of the Greatness."

She paused, knowing there was a catch, but not daring to ask. "So we just swirl our blood together underneath this Greatness thing?"

"No. That's the difficult part. The blood it's referring to isn't literal. It means your lives. And the killer must be you."

She couldn't do it. Finally, after years of wandering around and killing, she had finally found peace, a friend, a home. And now she had to give it all away. Herself, she herself would atone for her sins. She had always done so. But Yasuo, she couldn't condemn him. He had his own right to life, just as the previous.

"How can I trust you?" She spoke, bitterness creeping into her voice. Here was this random woman, telling her what she could and couldn't do.

Janna smiled, as if she knew that she would eventually come to this conclusion. "Elise, my darling, don't you remember me?" Janna looked at her with twinkling eyes.

She stared at the woman, realization coming to her face as it flooded back to her. The familiarity, the faint scent behind her voice. "Mom…"

Janna stared at Elise, and now she could see the struggles of the years reflected on the scholar. Her beautiful face, placid as a lake, shone with cruelty and malice. "It was for the best. I trained you to be tough."

Tough? Was that it. Was that how she would confront her demons, by absorbing them? Did that one word, tough, answer all of her childhood struggles? How could it stand in for the nights of pain, of tears flooding down her face?

She stared up defiantly against her mother, not afraid of the woman before her anymore. They were equals. They were both-

'Umfphh let go of me," Elise shrieked, but the cyclone wrapped itself harder around Elise's body. It squeezed, and the caverns within her stomach began to crumble. She screamed, but nothing came out but wisps of air. And slowly, Arachnid came out.

The wisps of black smoke exited from her body, until it formed a body of a man. Her father. "Don't you remember me, mi amor?"

The demon… the demon was her father all along. The burden of her lineage, staying with her the whole time. She stared at Janna and her father, her face contorting with rage. What happened to the broken vows of love? The humanity within them?

Janna pointed at Elise. "Take her back to the cave. I want you inside of her again."

A small wind spirit zipped forward and forced itself down Elise's throat. She gagged and coughed, but the small bubble of air quickly slid inside of her. She felt her hand move without her command, and she felt a sense of dread awaken within her.

"It's time we end the Master once and for all."

**Heyyy! Please review :/ It's really helpful for brainstorming/inspiration/etc. Also, I will be putting out a quick interlude (2 chapters) focusing on the backstory and stuff so it doesn't get too confusing. Thanks :D**


	6. Interlude: The Sister of the Winds

They say Janna was born from the air, a breeze of winter swirling into life. Other versions dispute that, and her origins have ranged from a typical rags-to-riches story to being a princess of the Void. Some theories even claim that she was born from the dying spirits of executed soldiers, cold and malicious from the beginning. Well, I can tell you that's all false. How do I know, you may ask?

I was born inside… a mother's womb. Like all the millions of other babies out there, I was born to a normal, middle-class mother and father who worried about normal, middle-class struggles such as taxes and education. As a child, I spent my nights buried under mountains of classwork issued by stern teachers; by day I was the shy, smart girl in the corner of the classroom. But all that changed one day.

That day, I discovered Eros, the wind spirit. It spoke to me within my dreams, nimbly dashing into my childhood imagination. That night the wind blew with a ferocity never seen before. The storm, centered on me, slowly encased the whole city. I was the eye, the center, the leader. Of course the storm fought back, but I bent it. I broke it.

Eros slowly developed more and more. He was no longer a mere pet or friend. He was part of me, part of the queen of the winds. And I grew as well.

This was all two thousand years ago. Since then, I have become nothing less than a deity of the winds. Floating through legends, a scholar of the past. I was there for the great fall of Shurima, when the mighty emperor Azir fell and his city crumbled into dust. I was there when the great queen Avarosa, my best friend, was killed. It changed me, forcing me to delve to knowledge as an escape. I was there for the creation of city-states, the construction of the city-states. I chose Demacia, for it reminded me most of my old home, Icatha. The splendor and glory was still there, but the hearts of the men were not ruled by logic. Instead, pride and arrogance was their motivation.

Power can never get anywhere. There is no possible gain through anything but knowledge, which constructs and shapes our universe. And until that day arrives, the day where the universe's mysteries spill themselves into my hands, I will keep on searching. And if I unearth ancient legends and curses on the way, so be it. For knowledge is the ultimate tool, and I will stop at nothing to gain it. Absolutely nothing.

Some call me a machine, some heartless. None of those can accurately capture the extent of my abilities. I've played the compassionate mother, the loyal and obedient scholar, the cruel and ruthless assassin. But I have just buried the human, the weakness of the little girl before. That was then. Now, that is lost forever, contained within an impenetrable shell of knowledge and logic.

I will discover the secrets of the Ancients. Even if it involves the harm of my daughter, that pitiful wrench. At least she's not weak, but she hasn't inherited any of my brains, it seems. The key to the power behind the Ancients must be mine, and I have the lock. Elise hasn't broken yet, but that's the thing about locks: They can be broken. They will be broken.

-_Excerpt from Janna's personal journals, recovered after the remnants of the Third War._

The people are worried. The sun sets earlier than before, and the Great Beasts are awaking, roaming the polar caps and devouring tribes. So far, my people have been relatively safe, but I fear this may not last. My oracle has just sent in the final bone readings from the Mist. The Black Mist grows stronger. It cannot be escaped, awakening legends not to be tampered with.

I hide the key within the frozen tomb. My sisters are getting more unpredictable by the day. Serylda yearns for war, riding her sacred boar and aggregating the nearby barbarian tribes. Just recently, we've had three separate instances of her skewing a tribesman with a spear for "infringing on her personal space." I fear conflict if this remains longer.

She's not the real problem, though. Lissandra has been experimenting with ancient magic, causing avalanches and freak blizzards to appear around the wild. When confronted, she didn't reply and tries to deny it. I require assistance immediately, Janna. Lissandra has always been unpredictable, and I fear this may be the end of our tentative alliance together. It has been stirring up talks of voodoo, of the ancient ways being revived amongst my people.

Janna, I know you study this in Icatha, where peace and prosperity are enjoyed. But please, please remember your roots. Remember your home. We are on the brink of collapse, and if the Black Mist pushes any further, my sisters will create the bloodiest civil war known to humanity.

Reply soon, Sister of the Winds.

-_Retrieved from Janna's house, dated 1500. Text is written on parchment that has endured harsh temperatures. _

Black Mist harrows at my doorway every morning, creeping through the cracks. It seeps into the spirits of my men, turning them astray from the old ways. A new group has arrived, calling themselves the Watchers. My people are trusting of them, but I do not. This coincidence, of them moving in with the Black Mist, it is too lucky, too much chance. Our Master fortold this, back when we trained together under him. Do you not recall?

Janna, my sister, it is time for you to return. Serylda has left, off to seek a new kingdom in the far North, where even the harshest blizzards cannot keep her thick skull out. The people are agitated, and it would do you much good to come. I heard your reply in the last letter, but please reconsider. I know how important your studies are to you, but don't abandon me, like the other did… The Fist of Shadow, leaving us to seek her own revenge. I cannot survive much longer, and my life spirit barely sustains the harsh Freljord. If it collapses, civil war and blood will reign. It will flow from the pores of men dying on the battlefield.

-Avarosa.

_Badly ripped by magical object, dated 1505, two days before the death of Queen Avarosa. _

_Stir. _The ancient voices beckoned, moving her closer. _Stir up the people. Awaken us, young Lissandra. _She couldn't resist it. The power glowed beneath the ice, flickering red and shining with a glowing power. And the only thing separating it from her was a thin sheet of ice.

Snarling, she gathered her wits. Her sisters had warned about this, but what did they know? Avarosa was always in the spotlight, the calm, powerful queen of the Freljord, while Serylda was renowned as the most ferocious warrior of the North. And what was she, Lissandra? She was the useless third sister, the one who would never live up to the other two. Until now.

She smashed the ice open, unleashing the spirits of legend. They wrapped themselves around her and visions flooded her mind. Visions of her tribe, her sister Avarosa encased in a shroud of ice, puncturing her lungs. She saw a bloody civil war, men stabbing each other in the gut and grunting, their lives fading away on the chilling ice. And she saw chains of corruption spread through the land, embracing continents and cities within its icy grasp. It couldn't stop, she couldn't stop it. And she didn't want to. Finally, she wasn't just a sister. She was power.

And then she appeared. Avarosa, her cursed sister. She appeared right behind Lissandra, firing a bolt of pure ice at the sister she once thought she knew. But it faded away. Shocked, Avarosa backed up.

"Sister, it's been too long." Lissandra sneered. "Now it's me who has you at mercy."

Avarosa raised a hand. "Lissandra, you don't know what you're doing. We can fix your heart, mend it, save you."

Her eyes flared for a second, and burning flames danced in them. "But I do. It's you who needs saving."

After the deed was done, Lissandra tested her powers. It flexed and jumped, but couldn't exit her body.

_That bastard. _She looked down at her sister's body, impaled with shards of sharp ice. _Using her life force to trap my powers, something she would do. A life for the good of others. _

She frowned as she walked away. That was a major inconvenience. The Watcher's plan would have to wait.

Janna read the letter once, then twice, then three times again. How could this be possible? Avarosa, dead? She remembered back to training…

"_Janna, come play with me and Rika". Avarosa's voice spread across the platform.  
>Janna looked across, shocked that anyone would want to play with her. She had come to the Master just to train, to learn how to control her powers. But Avarosa's game looked so fun…<em>

_Within minutes, the three girls were sitting happily in a circle, gossiping about the most recent news. Avarosa blushed. "Guess what happened to me yesterday?" _

_Rika leaned in. "Did he… Really?"_

_She giggled, a high pitch foreign to my ears. "Yeah. Shen kissed me behind the training mat yesterday. Ohh he was soo handsome." _

_As I sat there, gossiping the afternoon away until Master called us back for training, I felt the most alive I had in my life. This was how life should've been._

_Until she left. Until that day when Rika packed her bags and kamas and left, in pursuit of a distant enemy. Suddenly, their trio was down to two. Avarosa grew more distant, leaving Janna alone for long periods of time, but they were still inseperable. Just like sisters…_

Janna felt a tear slide down her eye. How could this letter have not made it to her? She would've left immediately, but now… Avarosa was dead?

She brushed her tear away and resigned herself back to her papers. She would avenge Avarosa. She would find out who controlled the Watchers. And she would personally rip them into shreds, even if it was the last thing she did.

She discovered the truth soon. After all, she is my protégé, my own pupil. It would be a real thriller to meet her and her daughter, Elise, in my lair at the same time. Both working for the same cause against me of course. Avarosa was so close to discovering the real truth that I had to have her killed. But as Janna's path and her daughter's intertwine, it's going to click. Oh, and of course, my little brother. Yasuo, Elise, Janna, Akali. Welcome to the end of the world.

-The Master

**Hi :{ This is a quick interlude that I wanted to do cuz it was fun :P It's basically a narration of the history behind Janna, behind her enemies, her goals, as well as offering some fun backstory into the events of the Freljord. (NOTE- THIS WAS 1500 YEARS AGO WHEN JANNA WAS A WEE TEENAGER)**

**I'm probably gonna do another one of these soon, as I feel as though they are really fun and can enhance the story, which is a bit confusing :'( That means… Please review if you want any specific historical events developed! Thanks for reading.**


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